We meet again, Bobofit - A PJO Oneshot
by Mason705
Summary: Percy Jackson has never been happier in his life. He is married, living an almost normal life, and now there are even kids on the horizon. But when Annabeth is away and Percy is wandering the streets of New York alone, he gets more than he bargained for when he enters a corner bar and finds himself sitting next to Nancy Bobofit.


**We meet again, Bobofit**

 _A son of Poseidon walked into a bar… sounds like the start of a bad joke,_ Percy thought, as he picked a stool and sat down. Annabeth had gone over to Boston to see Magnus again, and it was Percy's job not to destroy the house while she was out. She was due to come back in a number of hours, but he had grown impatient, and after nearly burning the house down in a failed attempt at homemade blueberry pie - that became more of a blackberry pie - he had decided to take a walk, and here he was.

Percy only drinks when Annabeth is away, unless it's a special occasion. He can't even pick up a beer around her without visions of smelly Gabe, his drunk, abusive stepfather, haunting him. But even when she is in a different city, one or two is more than enough for him… he may or may not fear Dionysus coming to say hello and make him do something foolish.

So as the barman came over and asked, "What can I get for you?" Percy thought the question over for about ten seconds before replying, "Water, please."

"Comin' right up."

When Annabeth left home, which had become an increasingly rare occurrence as of late, Percy would often walk the streets of New York, just to waste some time and hopefully send some monsters back to where they came from. But unfortunately the streets were clear, and Percy was starting to fear that he had finally killed off this century's worth of monsters. Of course, that was impossible. There will always be monsters on this side of the river, just as Carter and Sadie and their friends from Hogwarts will always have to deal with the ones on their side. But today was unnaturally uneventful.

The barman placed the glass of water in front of him.

"Free of charge," he said, and he attended to another patron. Percy sipped at his drink, and thought back on his previous adventures. It doesn't matter what he faces next: the good, the bad or the ugly. No matter what he does, no matter how hard he tries, Tartarus still haunts him to his core. That is one of the things that has drawn him and Annabeth closer than ever. The relentless nightmares, the visions of what was… the price for escaping his grasp, maybe. It has drawn them closer together.

But now, yet another challenge awaits them, one that he is both excited and nervous for. Annabeth has decided to bring kids into the equation. This is the first 'big' challenge that has come up in his life that he can't solve with a sword, and it scares him. _She's the one who has to do the painful part,_ he thought to himself as he took another sip. In truth, he already has a lot of baby experience from the odd occasion he would have to look after Estelle when she was younger. Now she was seven, and that thought made him feel old.

"Maybe it is time," he said to himself, as someone took a seat next to him.

"Hello handsome," she said, sultrily. Percy turned to her, and raised an eyebrow at who he saw. The woman beside him couldn't have been any older he was: twenty four. She had curly red hair that rested perfectly on her bare shoulders, light orange freckles scattered across her heart-shaped face, and hazel eyes, full of life and mischief.

She wore dark grey skin tight jeans with slip-on shoes of the same colour, and a white, sleeveless top that did nothing to conceal her shoulders… or her neckline. Yet, although she looked so different, even attractive, as Percy quickly noticed, it was still her: Nancy Bobofit, the kleptomaniac bully from Percy's time at Yancy academy.

"Are you gonna say something, or you just wanna stare for a while longer?" She asked, batting her eyes.

"You," is the only answer she got in return. It wasn't an angry response per se, but he was sure that it wasn't quite the answer she wanted.

"Me… what?"

"You… come here often?" Percy asked, before he took another sip of his water.

"Obviously you don't," she said. "I've never seen you here before."

"Nah, I just… decided to have a walk around... while my wife's out of town; I ended up here."

"Ah, so it's wife troubles then?" She asked.

"No."

"Riiiiigght. I suppose you ended up in a bar, talking to me, because you are in a very successful relationship."

"I'm in a bar because I was bored, and you started this conversation."

He fixed her with his classic 'either back off or change the subject' glance,

"Well, you got a name, or do I have to keep calling you handsome?"

 _Works every time,_ Percy thought.

"Percy," he said.

"Well, Percy," she said, as she pulled her stool closer. "I have a little… proposition-"

"If it's what I think it is, I'm not interested. Like I said, I'm married."

"Fine, but if you ever want some 'company', then-" She froze when a hand landed on her shoulder, and another on his.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked a gruff voice from behind him. Percy sighed and he finished his water. The rational part of his brain was thinking, _I'd better play it cool_ , but the board side of his brain was thinking, _Finally! Something is happening!_

Eventually he set his glass down, and the barman quickly removed it from the bar, as well as most the things in his general vicinity, as he shot Percy warning glances left, right and centre.

The man grasping his shoulder looked about forty, and his beer gut complimented his stubble and bald head perfectly. For a second, Percy thought he was met with a reincarnation of smelly Gabe. Behind the man were his friends... all three of them. To his left, two other men of a similar description stood. Both of them, more or less balding, beer gut, dirty clothes, and reeking of alcohol. To his right was a man he recognised, and Percy couldn't help scowl at him. Jim, he remembered, was one of Gabe's 'poker buddies'. He pretty accurately fitted the description they all seemed to share.

Percy picked the man's wrist off of his shoulder, like he was holding a dead animal, and dropped it.

"I'm just talking with my friend here. What do you think you're doing?"

"You are talking to my girl you-"

"Wait, Johnny," said Jim. "I know this kid."

"Yeah?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah. I could never forget him. Lil' Percy Jackson, dropped out of every school he ever attended. His step-dad was an old poker buddy of mine… oh, but the kid's mother-"

"Gabe was a brute, an asshole, a horrible step-dad and an even worse husband, and you'll learn exactly what happened to him the hard way, unless you get out of my face, you old drunks." Percy fixed them with his Lupa grade wolf-stare.

They all looked less than impressed. There were only two kinds of people who didn't waver under his wolf-stare. The extremely brave, or the utterly stupid. Percy decided that they were the latter.

Johnny stepped forward, his hand outstretched, but Jim put a hand to his chest and moved in between them.

"Now now, Percy," he chided. "Thats no way to talk to a friend. We're practically family."

"Just get out of here," Nancy said. "It's not worth it."

"Yeah, kid. Leave," Johnny said. "And maybe we won't pummel your pretty face in."

Percy glanced over at Nancy.

"Get out, now," Nancy said through gritted teeth.

"Fine," Percy said, as he stood up from his stool. "It's good to see you again, Bobofit."

Percy pushed his way through Jim and Johnny, and was almost through the door when he was grabbed by the wrist, and his arm was forced against the wall.

"You so much as walk into this bar again, so much as look at my girl, and I swear to god I'll-" Johnny was cut off when his nose gave way to the son of Poseidon's fist. He fell against a table, and rolled down to the floor as he clutched his broken nose.

Suddenly, Percy's phone began to ring, and he slid it out of his pocket.

 _Wisegirl_ , the screen said.

"Uh, give me a minute. It's the wife," Percy said, as he pressed the green button. He only had a couple contacts, all of them being in his 'crazy demigod life' circle; phones are just as dangerous to use as always.

"Hey wisegirl."

"Percy, where are you?" she asked.

"At… home."

"I'm at home," she said, and Percy cursed under his breath.

"You're home early."

"Yea… Magnus had to go on a quest, last minute thing. Something about a conflict between Nord and Hell."

"Oh, that sounds like… a hella-"

"Where are you?" she asked again.

"I'm… at a bar."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just… ended up here. You know the one at the corner… big blue sign, we drove past it a couple of times." Percy glanced at the three men who were helping their broken nosed buddy up off the ground.

"You bastard!" Johnny roared, as blood dripped from under the hand that was holding his nose.

"What have you done now?" Annabeth asked. She sounded more annoyed than angry.

"I was just… talking to an old friend from school, and her boyfriend… boyfriends, didn't appreciate that."

"You didn't flirt, did you?"

"NO! No wisegirl, you know I would never-"

"Talk up my girl would ya?!" Johnny barked, and Percy ducked as a glass flew over his head, and smashed against the door, sending shards everywhere.

 _He's definitely drunk,_ Percy thought.

Percy backed his way through the door, and quickly closed it behind him. He pressed his back against the door, and he fought against whoever was trying to push through.

"No," he continued. "You know I would never do that."  
"Seaweed brain, you were a literal chick magnet, sitting at a bar, alone."  
"I'm hardly a chick magnet."

"No, you are just a very naive one."

"Oh come on-"  
"I'll pick you up," Annabeth said.

"I'm good, really."

"You son of a b-" Percy coughed over the rest of Johnny's words.

"You sure?" She asked.

"Yea, I've got a lil' bone to pick now," Percy said.

"Okay… I love you."

"Love you too. I'll be home in… half an hour," he said, before ending the call.

Percy stepped away from the door just in time for Johnny to ram himself through it, and out onto the street. He tripped on the curb, and Percy grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to the sidewalk, hard, before the drunk ran into the path of a car.

He turned as Jim and the other two of Johnny's cronies ran at him, but he was ready.

Jim came at him first. Percy ducked a fist, and gave him a good, strong punch in the stomach. He keeled over, and Percy took the opportunity to crack his hand down on the pressure point between his shoulder and neck, karate chop style. Hand to hand is something he had taken the opportunity to learn, which translates to: spending as much time with Annabeth as possible, and picking up on a few things.

Before Jim could crumble to the ground completely, he grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him over his shoulder… right on top of Johnny, who was just beginning to get back on his feet. They both groaned out, and neither of them moved again.

The other two unnamed drunks came at him next, obviously lacking the common sense to think, _'maybe I shouldn't mess with this guy.'_

They both punched at his head simultaneously, and Percy caught their fists in mid air. He ducked and turned, twisting their arms behind him, and in one quick motion, he rolled forwards, flipping his opponents with him. Maybe it was a bit overboard, maybe he didn't care that much. He didn't like abusive old men who treated people like trash, and he had a distinct feeling that that's exactly what was happening to Nancy. In his opinion, all their type are the same.

The two men staggered to their feet, gripping their arms. One of them was dumb enough to take another punch at him, and Percy sidestepped it. Without even touching him with his hands, Percy headbutted him in the forehead, and then caught his body, slowly lowering him to the ground.

Percy looked at the last man who had his back against the door. "You want your butt handed to you as well, or are you gonna run away?" Percy asked him.

The man scowled, and kicked at him, but Percy spun around, avoiding his leg, and gave him a taste of his own shoe.

The door of the bar flug open as the man was forced through, and landed on his back, unconscious. The patrons of the bar stared at Percy as, one by one, he picked the men up off of the street, and sat them all around a table. It was only when he shut the door, and sat down next to Bobofit once more, did a couple of men clap. Either those bullies were not very liked, or they appreciated the entertainment.

The barman set another glass of water in front of him, and Percy nodded in appreciation to him.

"I'll pay for damages," he said, as he sipped his water, then he turned to Nancy.

"How many years has it been?" he asked her.

She just stared at him. He looked completely untouched, lacking even a cut or bruise to mark the four on one he'd just participated in. If nothing else, he looked a little bit happier.

"You know me?" Is all she said in return.

"Yeah, we went to school together; Yancy academy. You, me, Grover... ringing any bells?"

"Grover… the disabled kid?"

"My best friend," he replied. It was only then she remembered who she was talking too.

"Oh, yeah… Percy, how could I forget," she said, as her eyes strayed from his.

 _She remembers me, alright,_ Percy thought.

"It's um, good to see an old friend again," she said, ramping up the awkwardness.

"What's the story with those four?" he asked, motioning to the unconscious men.

"My… husband, ex-husband, boyfriend… now ex-boyfriend. He used to be such a charmer. Fit too. He was an accountant, nothing much special about him, but when we fell on hard times, he took to gambling… and I took to my, uhh... current profession."

"Goods and services?" he asked, and she half smiled at him.

"Something like that. I offer my goods as a service, for money."

"Right."

"So, where did you go, you know, after you were expelled from Yancy?"

"I'm surprised you remember that," he said, and he actually was. Did Chiron not wipe her memory - wipe the memories of everybody at Yancy - of any recollection of he and Grover?

"I went to a different school… and then another… eventually, I figured out my problem, and I fixed it. I managed to live a completely _normal_ life."  
"You make a normal life sound like an achievement," she said.

"For me, it was."

He took the last sip of his water, and scribbled something down on a napkin.

"If he causes you any more trouble, call, and I'll knock his butt up main street, okay?" He handed her the napkin, with his details on it.

"Uhh, sure," she said, taking it from him.

"I've got to get home, before Annabeth sends out a search party. It's been… nice, to see you again, Nancy."

He opened his wallet, and slid the barman one hundred and fifty dollars in notes.

"This is all I got," he said.

The barman looked down at the money, and pushed it back to him.

"It was worth it, listening to you drop those scumbags," he said. "Thank you for your patronage."

Percy nodded to him, and left without another word, only glancing at Nancy as he shut the door.

"I probably don't deserve any more than that," she said.


End file.
